3XV win the battle of The Mount

This is not a normal fixture. Playing the prison team aka The Mount means spring cleaning the kit bag, military planning and a sense of the unknown in rugby terms. It was going to be like no other away match , and it didn't disappoint.
We all gathered by the massive Iron door at HMP The Mount ready to go in at 1pm ,but there was still no sign of Luke Donnebaum. The Iron doors started to close and donnerkebab had to make a 10 yard dash to just make it in before they clunked shut. We were led through endless cage doors and corridors until sanctuary was found in the Prison Gym to change and prepare. Seriously good sports hall and gym. Looking back this was the first clue about what happened in the first 20 minutes. We proceeded to the Pitch through 'housing estates' of prison cells , we received some window banging and jeering , nothing less than we had expected !
Game underway and we were met with a barrage of hits from The Mount's big runners, they ruthlessly smashed every ruck and maul and Chiltern were reeling. We had no ball for the first 10 minutes. Just constant pressure. The Mount captain Ryan Lee scored a try and Chiltern were concerned. A Jack Davidson try evened things up but The Mount were playing attritional Rugby and scored again. The 3XV were taking injuries at this point, and were under the cosh, a change of plan was needed , we couldn't match them at the breakdown. A Dan Kinsey Penalty brought Chiltern closer but the first half finished with Chiltern 10-8 down. David Crimp as 3rd team manager urged us to change to an expansive wide game, exploit the 1 on 1s in the centre.
In the second half Chiltern started to spread the ball , stretching their backline and keeping the big forwards out of the game. Jack Davidson playing at Centre ran in 3 further second half tries , with Louis Cottell in the back row bagging a Hatrick.

The Mount presented a serious challenge , I look forward to seeing how the other teams in our league get on against them as they will only get better.

Thanks to Jerry Green for supplying the kit bag and keeping the 3XV supplied with tape.
The 3XV face Plate Final opponents Biggleswade 2XV this coming Saturday away, another tough match coming up,